Our seditious history
Where does one draw the line over the liberty we give society’s antagonists? Should free speech really have limits?One of the first European settler antagonists in Australia was Ballarat.....
Issue 26.33 – January 31, 2012
| Latest News | Updated January 31, 2012 |
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Wilsons Creek road slip could cut off valley
Heavy rain has washed away a section of road near the Wilsons Creek primary school, and the real concern is that the remainder of the road may also go. Council traffic controllers are on... Read more»
Bruns hit by a spate of robberies
Though police say it is not a crime wave, Brunswick Heads has had more than its fair share of break and enters in recent weeks. Part owner of the Sandbar restaurant Rachael Smith says that they have been robbed twice in two months. ‘The first time they took our till, which had nothing in it, but they smashed it up anyway, and it was just days after we spent $200 on replacement parts’, she says. ‘This time, however, they got lucky. They stole our till drawer which had a $250 float in it. I hope they have fun spending it because we are certainly not... Read more»
Splendour site hearings this week
A total of 131 speakers are scheduled to speak at the two days of public hearings this week into the controversial plan for a permanent music-festival site at Yelgun on the Tweed-Byron shire border. Due to the large number of speakers for and against the development, the NSW Public Assessment Commission (PAC) has limited each speaker to five minutes. The hearings will be held on Wednesday February 1 at the Byron Bay Community Centre and Thursday February 2, at the Ocean Shores Public School hall in Shara Boulevard, Ocean Shores. Both hearings start at 9am. ... Read more»
Shires combine to reduce plastic bags
Both Lennox Head and Byron Bay are currently running campaigns pushing for the reduction of plastic bags from retailers. Lennox Head Chamber of Commerce president Louise Owen told The Echo, ‘Most of the locals are on board,’ however, tourists usually don’t think to bring their own bags. ‘The Chamber also doesn’t support biodegradable bags; they don’t break down any faster, and both can do damage to marine life.’ Ms Owen says that Lennox businesses Riley Burnett and Pure Pod are now plastic bag free, and she is hoping the IGA... Read more»
Councillors to fight Bruns boarding house plan
Byron Shire Council will defend its refusal last year of the planned re-development of the Brunswick Heads gym and squash centre into a 34-unit boarding house, in what could be a test case for a controversial state policy on affordable rental housing. The owners of the Teven Street property, Murray and Julia Stebbing, lodged an appeal in the Land and Environment Court late last year against the councillors’ 8–1 decision last June. The refusal supported a campaign by residents who saw it as a major overdevelopment of the site which would have ruined the character... Read more»
Byron Shire celebrates its own on Aussie Day
Despite the wet and cancellations, Australia Day was celebrated by around 100 people in the Mullum Civic Hall last Thursday. Nigel Stewart from National Parks gave an Arakwal welcome while... Read more» |
| Features | Updated January 31, 2012 |
Your Sustainable Community Feature
Download the combined 20 page PDF of Your Sustainable Community Feature here (8MBs)
| Opinion and Analysis | Updated January 30, 2012 |
Abbott all at sea on navy’s role
The first duty of sailors is to rescue those in danger, irrespective of whether they be friend or foe.Young men and women join the Royal Australian Navy for a variety of reasons: to fight for their.....
Invasion of the privacy snatchers
There are three little magic words that thrill every mother to the core. Back To School. Thank Christ they’ve gone. Yeah I love them. Yeah I’d lay down my life for them. I just.....
What's in a name?
Bell pepper, pimiento, capsicum, sweet pepper, bullnose pepper – depending on where you reside the name will vary. And Christopher Columbus can be blamed for the confusion: on his voyage to.....
Cinema Review
The Descendants In the same fashion as Up In The Air (2009), we enter the movie accompanied by the confiding, measured tones of George Clooney’s voice-over. As Matt King, a descendant of.....
Moving our birthday
On Thursday, January 26, Byron Shire, along with the rest of Australia, will be celebrating Australia Day – see www.byron.nsw.gov.au/australia-day.The fashion for widely celebrating the birth.....